


Still with me?

by JQ (musicmillennia)



Series: Emanon [4]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dragons, Fantasy, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Phoenixes, Temporary Character Death, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 19:33:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6127765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicmillennia/pseuds/JQ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I don't know what exactly this is, but I hope it's what you wanted, dear!</p>
    </blockquote>





	Still with me?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nordstrom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nordstrom/gifts).



> I don't know what exactly this is, but I hope it's what you wanted, dear!

Shower's set to scalding. Len's body wrecks itself shivering and roiling as he stands under it.

How did he get here? Why's his head so empty? Fuck, everything's spi _nn_ in _g_ ,  _spi_ nni _ng_ , he can't breathe, he's gonna—

"Shit," who—Lisa? How is Lisa—"Lenny, sit down, come on big brother. Mardon, don't let him slip—"

Mardon? How—

Len's put on the shower floor, leaned against the tile wall. More shivers twitch and seize through him. Stomach pangs with nausea. Why is this happening, what—

"Loki my darling,"  _Axel_? (Nervous, he sounds  _nervous_ , nervous? Why nervous?) "Would you be so very kind as to give us another one of your  _dazzling_ melodies?"

A phoenix starts to sing. For a few precious seconds, Len sucks in mouthfuls of air amidst the shower's spray. Loki sounds nothing like xem, but—but...but.

Xe. Where...where is...

A hand shoves Len's head forward just in time for him to vomit down the drain.

Gone. Xe is gone.

* * *

21st of June, 2083: hands down the most chaotic solstice Mick's ever celebrated.

At first it was pretty awesome. Soon as the Waverider lands in 2083's Coast City, a battle breaks out like the sweet light of a match. According to Snart, this bounty hunter's called Khan. Mick knows the name from all the  _Star Trek_ that's taken over the Rogues' TV back home, but nothin' else. Still, it sticks better than whatever the guy's actual name is.

So they fight. Khan brought a couple friends with him, which makes it all the more fun—right up until the moment it's not.

Important thing to consider here: this is their first mission after 2046. They've already done a spectacular job of scolding him as xe has with Snart, but their riders are nothing if not stubborn. Sure, they're both to blame for what happened, but if you asked? It was the other guy.

That's why, when Snart scrambles—honest to fuck  _scrambles_ —for their bond, Mick flicks him off with an irritated shrug. If he'd known what exactly'd been happening he woulda done different, but he hadn't.

See, Khan's got a phoenix of his own. Blue, like xem, albeit smaller and more tightly harnessed. She's got more experience though, and plenty of power to spare. Mick's so focused on frying the rest of Khan's cronies on their back that he doesn't see the way the blues flicker in and out of the universe. All he can feel is power draining fast from xem and Snart, which leads him to wonder how stupid they're trying to be.

The blues duke it out for more than half the battle, Khan's blue taking them farther and farther from their original universe. Gets to the point where, at the deciding blow, Snart and xem're somewhere between Earth-50 and Jupiter-9.

Xe's made plenty of jumps before, but nothing on this scale, especially without any breaks between. As Khan's phoenix barely manages to land with her rider dangling from the saddle, xe can't stop burning.

Blue flame becomes a rain of ash.

Snart collapses on his hands and knees and vomits. Barely saved from falling face-first into it by Kendra rushing to his aid.

Mick's never heard Snart yell the way he does then. Kendra doesn't even try to shush him.

"Get him back to the ship," Rip orders, like he needs to tell them twice, " _now_!"

* * *

Phoenixes don't stay down for long. It's their most iconic trait: they live too long, use up too much of their flame at once, and suddenly they're a pile of ash, only to resurrect however many hours later as a chick.

It's not too fun when you're a phoenix rider. Apparently you get somewhat used to it if you've gone through it enough times, but Snart hasn't.

"Not even once?" Raymond asks, incredulous, "But their bond's definitely not new—"

"Snart's a meticulous bastard," Mick interrupts, completing his usual post-battle checks on his gun, "when he stretched xir limits, he was careful about it. Coddled xem like a newborn babe."

They can't disagree. Still peck him and trill. He replies with a lower note, scowling.

Sara rounds on Rip. "Then there's no other option. We have to take him back to their flock in 2016."

Rip opens his mouth, but Gideon answers for him: " _Setting a course for Central City, 2016._ "

Captain's not too happy about that. Jackass. "Gideon, we have to follow—"

" _I'm sorry Captain, but my creator programmed me with a subroutine that cannot be overwritten. If there is someone on board in need of assistance which I can provide in some way, this assistance will be provided. Mr. Snart's condition requires a course for Central City, 2016._ "

They and Mick chortle. Jax grins, "I'd like to meet your creator, Gideon."

Strange enough, Metal Mouth keeps her trap shut.

" _I have taken the liberty of gathering xir ashes together for Mr. Snart when xe is revived. Xir rebirth will take approximately twelve hours._ "

Kendra hisses. Mick can't disagree; he's gone through a few of their rebirths, but none of 'em took that long. Snart's not gonna have a good day.

In short order, Gideon announces their safe landing. Pushing himself up, Mick whips out his phone and sends Lisa a short version of what happened to her brother and where they landed. Over his shoulder he throws a, "Good luck takin' out Khan's bird without us."

In the medbay, Len's broken out in a fever sweat. His breathing and heartbeat are elevated, and he keeps muttering nonsense under his breath. Mick places xir ashes in his sickly pale hands. Soon as Lisa tells him she and Gold're gonna pick Len up, he lifts Len and carries him outside.

They gently poke the small capsule while they wait, singing a mourning song. Seems to keep Len calm until Lisa's gold shines in the distance.

She doesn't say a word. Just straps her brother in front of her, wrapping her arms around him to make sure xir ashes aren't lost. Mick mounts them and follows her to the Rogues' den, a warehouse by the docks.

Lisa's gold gently conveys Len to the ground just in time for Mardon's Water to slither onto the docks. His scales, similar shades to xem, have Len leaning heavily on him as they all make their way inside.

Lisa keeps Mick out when she, Mardon, and Axel help Len into a steaming shower. Mick understands, much as he doesn't like it; she'll be pissed at him for a while.

* * *

As night falls, Lisa tucks her brother into bed and curls around him on top of his sheets. Shawna peeks in from time to time to check Len's heart rate and breathing. Sometimes it's too fast; sometimes it's dangerously slow.

"His body doesn't know whether it should shut down and follow xem or not," she tells the others.

And after hearing that, there's not stopping Mick and them from coming in.

Lisa glares at both of them. Still doesn't say anything. She's as good as her brother when it comes to giving people the cold shoulder. Mick doesn't flinch.

They perch behind him as he clambers into the spot in front of Len. Glassy blue eyes roll this way and that, barely focusing on Mick's face for more than a couple seconds at a time. Quick, shuddering breaths choke in and out of Len's pale lips.

"Fuckin' sucks, don't it?" Mick mumbles, touching their foreheads as they drape their wings over the three of them, blocking the last vestiges of sunset outside. "Metal Mouth said twelve hours before we got here. Got about five hours left, Lenny."

Suddenly Len whispers, " _Four_  hours...twenty-eight minutes...forty-two seconds."

Mick and Lisa share a startled look in spite of themselves.

"Yeah, Lenny," Lisa whispers, squeezing his arm.

After that, every minute that passes, Len whispers how much time is left. It's annoying as fuck, and Mick has never wanted to punch him in the face so badly in his life—and that's including that time with the CDs (don't ask).

He doesn't say a word about it.

* * *

Len wakes to a rush of cool water in his temple and Mick's chin on top of his head.

Xe tucks xemself in his shirt. They can sleep a little longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
